Big arms haul near Indo-Bangla border

Acting on a tip, the guards recovered at least 348 mortar shells, 20 hand grenades, 20 bombs, two AK-47 rifles and some other bomb-making devices.

A team of Bangladeshi border guards recovered bombs, mortar shells and about 37,000 bullets after raiding a house on Friday along the Indian border, an official said.

Acting on a tip, the guards recovered at least 348 mortar shells, 20 hand grenades, 20 bombs, two AK-47 rifles and some other bomb-making devices after digging around the house, Col M Anisuzzman of the Bangladesh Rifles said.

The cache was found at Monikora village in Haluaghat in Mymensingh district, 112 kilometres north of the capital, Dhaka, Anisuzzaman said.

All the arms and ammunitions were kept in 10 plastic drums, he said.

The guards arrested three villagers that included the owner of the home, he said, adding that all of them were Bangladeshis.

He said they were questioning the detainees to know if they have any ties with any Indian rebel groups.

Bangladesh shares 4,000 kilometres of porous border with India. Small-scale caches of arms are commonly found along the border, presumably left by arms smugglers.